Mike's views on politics and the world in general

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In Oregon a while back, there was a proposal to move our road tax system to a full weight-mile tax. The complaint was that cars were getting too fuel-efficient, and Oregon wasn’t getting enough from gas taxes. The only reason it failed was that they couldn’t figure out how to implement it without years of lawsuits.

Why did I think of government trying to get money out of people who try to be efficient? Um, no reason…

State energy regulators on Tuesday proposed major changes to the way residents pay for electricity in the biggest overhaul of utility rates since California’s energy crisis more than a decade ago.

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The changes may seem counter to the state’s long-standing push for energy efficiency. But, according to the commission’s staff, the most efficient California households currently pay less for electricity than the utilities spend supplying it to them. They are…